Stoecker, Bertha Marie

Bertha Marie Stoecker, 83, of Central City, died Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, with her family by her side. Service: 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 4, at Good Shepard Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Wesley Bruss. The family will greet friends from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Marion. Burial: Evergreen Cemetery, Vinton.

Survivors include her son, Steven (Terri) Stoecker of Cedar Rapids; a daughter, Marla (Kelly) Malone of Central City; a daughter-in-law, Linda Stoecker of Menagha, Minn.; seven grandchildren, Charity Gipson, Chance Stoecker, Shane Stoecker, Kris Stoecker, Tiffany McGaffee, Shelby Malone and Riley Malone; 14 great-grandchildren and a baby girl due in December; a brother, Robert (Martha) Kistler of Fairfield;  a sister, Mary (Dean) Bryant of Ankeny; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bernard; two infant children, Dewayne Lee and Sandra Kay; a son, LaVerne Stoecker; brothers, William Marohn, Theodore Marohn and John Kistler; and sisters, Nellie Marohn, Ruth Sharp, Helen Wolfesperger and Margaret Fuller.

Bertha was born Dec. 16, 1927, the daughter of Walter and Mary (Daggett) Kistler in Foster, Mo. She married Bernard Stoecker on June 28, 1945, in Osceola, Iowa. Bertha's legacy will be her cooking. She was a fantastic cook. She was head cook at St. Luke's Hospital for 20 years.

Bertha enjoyed traveling, country music, basketball, watching birds and growing flowers.

 She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, who will be greatly missed.

Please sign the online guest book for Bertha at under obituaries.

Published in The Gazette Nov. 1, 2011.

Corrections made; republished Nov. 2, 2011. 

Second notice published Nov. 3, 2011.